Virtually all types of vehicles, such as, for example, an automobile, have numerous conductors or wires running throughout the vehicle. These wires distribute power to various electrical components of the vehicle and allow for components or devices of the vehicle to communicate with one another. These wires are often grouped together into a bundle to form a wire harness, and are frequently concealed by running them within the frame of the vehicle. For instance, a wire harness may run through one or more pillars of an automobile in order to connect the electrical devices located in the rear or ceiling of the vehicle to the primary power supply and electronics contained in the front of the vehicle.
In order to provide access to a wire harness that runs within a pillar of an automobile, an opening is often provided within one of the walls making up the pillar. During assembly of the vehicle, a type of plug or clip, often referred to as a pillar shield within the industry, is used to close off the opening, as well as secure the wire harness to prevent it from moving within the pillar. One example of this arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1, which depicts a wire harness 130 running within a vehicle pillar 100 having an outer wall 120 and inner wall 110. Provided within the inner wall 110 is an opening 140 into the interior of pillar 100. Defining the opening 140 is a portion of the wall 110 that forms a flange or edge 150 of the opening 140. Also illustrated is a typical pillar shield 200 which is used to close off the opening 140 and secure the wire harness 130. According to the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the wire harness 130 is secured to the pillar shield 200 by means of a fastening device 252 that encircles the wire harness 130 and then attaches to the pillar shield 200.
Illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 2 is the typical pillar shield 200 depicted in FIG. 1. Located at one end of the pillar shield 200 is a fixed recess or slot 220 designed to fit over the edge 150 of the opening 140. At the other end of pillar shield 200 are clips 210 that resiliently engage the edge 150 of opening 140 and lock the pillar shield 200 within the opening 140. A pair of fixed guide walls 230, designed to abut up against the edge 150 of the opening 140, are provided to prevent the pillar shield from moving back and forth within the opening 140. A wire harness 130 is then secured to the shield 200 by means of either a clip 240, or a fastening device 252, as illustrated in FIG. 1, that plugs into a receiving hole 250. The wire harness may run completely within the pillar 100 as illustrated or may transition from outside of the inner wall 110 into the pillar.
Several complications arise, however, with the use of a typical pillar shield 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Installation of the pillar shield 200 can be difficult as the shield 200 obscures the flange edge 150 of the opening 140 during the installation process. As a result, alignment of the shield 200 with respect to the opening 140 frequently becomes a trial and error process. Achieving and maintaining an alignment of the shield subsequent to its insertion into the opening 140 is also difficult due to variances in the size of opening 140. Specifically, shield 200 is designed for a specific size opening. However, because of tolerances in the production process, the dimensions of opening 140 will vary to a certain extent. As a result, shield 200 is frequently out of alignment within the opening with respect to a first axis, i.e., X-axis, and a second axis, i.e. Y-axis.
Furthermore, the typical pillar shield 200, as illustrated in FIG. 2, often fails to mount within the opening 140 in a secure enough manner to prevent movement of the shield 200. This is especially important in a vehicle environment, such as an automobile, which is frequently subject to repeated bumps, jolts and vibrations that lead to the shield 200 moving back and forth within the opening 140 either along a plane parallel to the wall 110 containing the opening 140, or along a plane perpendicular to the wall 110.
Consequently, the inventors of the present invention recognized a need for a pillar shield that securely mounts within an opening and secures a wire harness. Further recognized was the need for a pillar shield that could be easily aligned within the opening during its installation, and which subsequently maintained a proper alignment.